Testimony Tuesday
Hermione's incredible story!
This is a bit long but well worth the time!
My name is Deborah Glass and I reside in Bryn Mawr, PA., a suburb of Philadelphia. I am 57 years old and have owned labs and goldens my entire life. My yellow female lab and male black lab both lived to 15 years of age. In 2000, after a two year "mourning" period, we got another male black lab (Hank) and a female golden (Hermione). Both dogs came from intensively researched and reputable breeders. Both had multi-generational clearances of all types. Both were amazing dogs. To our shock and horror, Hank, our black lab, died at 5 years of age of lymphoma. He received treatment at the prestigious North Carolina State Veterinary College. He underwent chemotherapy for about 4 months when he could tolerate no more and the cancer was showing no signs of abatement. He died before Thanksgiving in 2005. (we found later that we were living near power lines) Our remaining dog, Hermione, our female golden, was in seemingly good health when we moved to Pennsylvania in 2006. However, in Spring 2008, when she was 8 years old, and after a progressive decline in energy and vitality, she too was diagnosed with lymphoma. She started a year long regimen of chemotherapy (leukeran) at the veterinary teaching hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She was also on prednisone, ursodial, metronidizole, and often an antibiotic like cephalexon during this year long period. During this time the skin problems started, the diarrhea, the panting, overeating, muscular problems, and accidents in the house. She lost a great deal of coat, probably not due to chemotherapy, but rather to the steroids. She had very little mobility and slept most of the day. Her access to the house had to be limited to select rooms, because she could no longer control urination or bowels reliably. We managed to get through the 12 months, and she was in remission by Spring 2009. But she had developed new problems. She could no longer climb stairs. She had constant ear, skin and vaginal infections. She had developed canine papilloma virus in her mouth and on her vulva due to her suppressed immune function. By Christmas 2009 she continued to be miserable and we were simply waiting for the lymphoma to return (the average remission is only about 10 months). In the course of several surgical removals of the papillomas in the mouth, which grew back with a vengeance after each removal, a new tumor grew in the mouth at the same site as the papilloma. It was biopsied and found to be a fibrosarcoma (malignant). The veterinarians at Penn recommended that we surgically remove her lower jaw to prevent the spread of the locally aggressive cancer, which would rapidly consume her mouth and spread to the jaw bone.
After many x-rays, ultra-sounds, very bad blood panel results and copious tears, we decided to bring Hermione home and let her end her life with us as comfortably as possible at home with us. She had been through enough.
At about this time, I received an e-mail from Hermione's breeder, who has founded and operates a golden retriever therapy and assistance dog foundation. The purpose of the e-mail was
to inform owners of various holistic treatments and philosophies that had helped another golden with cancer. I responded to the e-mail that Hermione had lymphoma and I was interested to learn more. After all, conventional, allopathic veterinary alternatives no longer offered any options for us.
This breeder and friend, sent me a diet plan, links to websites for herbal and homeopathic treatments, a full NAET protocol, and information about a mat, the MRS 2000. I am a skeptical person by nature, but in this case, I had nothing to lose. I had no alternatives. So why not? I took Hermione off all commercial dog foods. I could never have imagined that I would be capable of this, but I started steaming fresh vegetables (broccoli, carrots, beans - all organic) and cooking organic chicken or grass-fed beef, lamb, free range turkey. I gave her supplements in her food such as Vitamin C, selenium, Laetrile, grapefruit seed extract, glycosomine and homeopathic immune boosters. After each meal we had 8 minutes on the MRS mat and whatever NAET treatments were on the schedule for that day. As overwhelming as it sounds, it was not difficult to do all this, and Hermione loved her MRS mat time and NAET, not to mention the new food.
Several things occurred almost immediately. First, Hermione started to climb the steps again. Each night she was able to climb to our 2nd story and sleep beside the bed. This had not happened for the past 18 months.
Also, she had more energy for play with her tennis ball, and her skin began to clear with soakings in the Miracle 2 soap I was bathing her in.
We continued our MRS mat sessions 3 times per day. The lymph nodes were now palpating normally, the swollen nodes no longer noticeable at all. But beyond that, the fibrosarcoma’s had disappeared and there has been no
re-growth whatsoever. (The original tumors had grown back in the course of one week!) The vets had told us that the tumor would grow back immediately without removal of her lower jaw.
The next truly amazing development was that the papillomas on the mouth and vulva began to reduce in size and ultimately disappeared. They are gone. If anyone has ever seen these growths, they know that they are large cauliflower- like warts that blend together, trap food, protrude from the mouth or genital area and smell, as food and other matter gets trapped in them. While they are not in themselves dangerous, as a sarcoma is, they are graphic reminders of the compromised immune system and it was indeed a wonderful occurrence that they had finally resolved without any more surgical procedures. They had twice previously been surgically removed without stopping
regrowth.
Now it is Spring, 2010. It has been three months since Hermione began these alternative methods. She is now cancer free, there has been no recurrence of the insanely aggressive fibrosarcoma, the papilloma’s are gone, and my dear old friend is back to glorious skin, coat and energy and the healthy golden we once had.
I am not much for testimonials, but I am pleased to share these facts. I believe that the MRS mat and NAET treatments, as well as the diet changes have kept Hermione alive and restored her good health. She has been given back her life. Hermione loves her meals, her MRS mat and the NAET.
Last Christmas we felt sure it was her last holiday with us. Now at Easter, she is out playing with our new puppy. Hermoine’s health has improved so dramatically in 3 months that we have hope now, where before we had none.
On April 10 I received the results of her new blood panel. All was very well indeed! Red and white cell counts excellent (she had developed anemia after chemo), thyroid function normal (she had been hypothyroid), liver and kidney function strong. Stools clean and normal. Skin clear.
We now believe Hermione will be with us for many summer’s to come in her favorite place on earth- the lake in Wisconsin where we spend summers with her tennis ball at the ready.
Deborah E. Glass, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
(from Ann Chase: since this is being published with Deborah’s permission, I will be glad to put people in contact with her for any specific personal questions. If you are interested in the MRS mat and the alternative methods we used, please feel free to contact me any time: 704-759-0108 or Ann@HonorTherapyDogs.Org & HonorGR@aol.com.
Hermione enjoying her summer 2 years after she was sent home to die!!